mybookhaven

[mybookhaven]

The Poppy War Series - R.F. Kuang

⭐⭐ (2/5)

Chinese Fantasy - Historical Fantasy

Oh boy, i'm gonna get so much hate for this but i decided to do it anyways. I was beyond excited to read Kuang's Poppy War series as it has been one of the most talked about fantasy series for a while, and maybe that's what made the experience so... anti-climactic, but i was really upset by how i ended up viewing these books.

Just a heads up, this is not to say that the series isn't good and that those who like it are wrong, on the contrary it's ME writing MY OPINION on a story i'm not trying to force my opinion on (regardless i do this for myself as i like to find an outlet i can dump my book feelings in).

Cover artist: Jung Shan Chang

I will not be going in detail about the events of the books because i feel like i need to talk more about the story's effect on myself. When i first started the series i was amazed by Kuang's setting and plot. I think it is worth mentioning that the plot is one thing i actually really loved about these books as it was intriguing, engaging, and very much creative. What made the series so hard to enjoy were the characters. Most were annoying and childish, and unfortunately this was true for Rin, the main character, throughout the series.

Moreover, one thing i hated about these books, and i think it was the reason i decided not to finish them, is the way the romance was written. It was beyond me how anyone could read the amount of toxicity happening between the characters and even consider viewing them as romantic. Rin was involved romantically with two characters and both were complete assholes who physically and mentally abused her on multiple occasions. I'm not sure if it was supposed to reflect Rin's character and how she uses self-inflicted harm to deal with her problems, but it was just too unsettling to read and i couldn't continue.

All of that combined with how stupid Rin was written to be just made me regret buying these books in the first place. This was the first DNF in my reading journey, because i usually force myself to finish books I don't particularly like, something i just couldn't do this time.

Again this is not to say R.F. Kuang is a bad writer, i've read Babel and i've liked it quite a bit.

[mybookhaven]

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

Romance - Queer - Slightly Supernatural

I'm not a person who enjoys reading pure romance books so the rating is not fair to the book itself, but i did enjoy the twist McQuiston added to the genre. The plot was enjoyable, the characters likable and it's SAPPHIC so of course I liked it.

Cover illustration: Monique Aimee

The story follows August, newly arrived in New York trying to figure out how she fits in in the confusing world of adulthood. She meets mysterious leather jacket-wearing Jane in the subway which flips her life upside down. Jane is stuck on the subway, with no idea who she is or how she got stuck in the first place. Slowly, as the two start to tangle up in each other's lives, memories start coming back to Jane in pieces helping the two unravel the mystery of Jane's past.

The writing was a bit slow paced, nonetheless light and enjoyable. McQuiston weaved together the past and the present in a beautiful way building up the to the "big reveal" that was quite interesting to read. At first I felt that the romance was sudden and didn't make much sense, but as things slowly began to come to light, the "sudden" connection between August and Jane made perfect sense in light of the progress of the story.

The thing that got to me though is that this book could've been much smaller, and that would've been better for the plot itself. There were a lot of filler events that i felt weren't related to how the story was developing. They were enjoyable to read, but it would've been much better if they were either integrated into the plot in some way, or been removed completely from the narrative.

Otherwise, i liked the way the book mixed together modern romance and (slight) science fiction in a creative plot that makes the story very much enjoyable.

[mybookhaven]

The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah

Historical fiction - Domestic abuse - Romance

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Historical fiction will always have a special place in my heart even though i've been shattered to pieces on multiple occasions after reading books in said genre. This is a book about love. Love that hurts, love that builds, love that blinds, and love that kills. It is a very heavy book and i would recommend anyone who is sensitive to topics of domestic abuse to go through trigger warnings before starting it. I can still feel the heaviness of it all in my heart, and that's how i know it will hold its place inside my mind forever.

Cover design: Michael Storrings

The book is about a family of three, Leni a 13 year old girl, and her parents Cora and Ernt who upend their lives in Seattle (1974) to move to the state of Alaska for a fresh start. It's about people that find themselves in a place where "wild" takes on a deeper meaning finding its way to every crevice in their lives. A family that breaks and rebuilds with the whims of a man left broken from the war. It's a story about so many kinds of love that can hurt and grow at the same time.

Hannah was able to paint the events of the books in a way that felt very intimate to the reader. I felt like i was standing there next to the characters fighting the urge to reach out and help in situations that tore me apart. The characters were so well developed and felt very real to me which made everything that happens much more painful to witness.

It's a book about life, and how beautiful and ugly it can be, and how unfair it is to be born in a situation so out of your control that affects each and every step you take.

One of my favorite things about this book is the setting, middle of nowhere Alaska surrounded by the wild beauty of the northern (semi)wild. And i think it was the perfect place to reflect everything the book stands for.

My only issue was that the book was sometimes very slow paced, though i understood the need for those sections later on. But other than that, I would definitely recommend it to the world. Just make sure that you do not need your mood to be stable for the period of reading the book because it took over me completely that i found it hard to function well enough to get back to my work😅.

[mybookhaven]

The Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson

High fantasy - Detailed world building - mental health

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

I will not be the first person to be completely taken in by the depth of the worlds created by Sanderson, but I couldn’t just ignore the huge crater they have left in my mind. I have grown to care deeply about all the characters of this series (MINOR and major), and would consider these books to be amongst my favorite reads ever. The scope of the plot is absolutely enormous yet very easily understood thanks to Sanderson's magical abilities (yes magical abilities because goodness he CAN WRITE), and i cannot wait till i've consumed every single book ever in the Cosmere.

The series follows a group of humans that come from very different backgrounds as they try to save their people, and the planet they call home from "invasion" by what is known as voidbringers. Sanderson introduces us to Kaladin (the sad wet cat baby boi we all love) as the first narrator of the books and how he struggled for years with high-borns, war, and slavery events that were responsible in part for shredding his mental health to pieces. We then meet Shallan (THE CHARACTER for me) who has evidently been through a lot (also shredded mental health) that we will slowly figure out as events unfold. Jasnah, sister to the king, scholar royalty, with most probably a mixture of some kind of shredded mental health, autism, and "aro" something that is not very clear relationship with romance. I will limit myself to these three characters because i could go on forever with every single person in this series (i am not exaggerating).

The writing style is very much accessible. I'm used to fantasy having all kinds of complicated narratives that get in the way of grasping the progress of the plot, but this series is anything but that. Every character's point of view is written in their unique sound (fascinatingly so with Shallan and her ehem buddies) and interestingly we get to experience two sides of every character, their own pov and the way other people perceive them which was very beautiful to read (and incredibly obvious with Jasnah).

These books deal with so much heavy and morally ambiguous topics in surprising detail that i felt i was reading actual events about a place that exists somewhere in our universe. Metal health, slavery, colonialism, war, religion and so so much more that i really cannot understand the power behind the creation of these books.

Most importantly, as it's something i struggled with when i first decided i wanted to read Sanderson's work, these books are very easily understood without having to read the other books in th Cosmere, but people who do will experience a much bigger world with more connections to other events, worlds and "gods" that actually reflects the scope of THE STORY Brandon Sanderson is writing.

I am definitely going to read the rest of the cosmere and will attach a youtube link to anyone interested in starting that suggests the best way to get into the Cosmere that will put events chronologically in a sense.

[mybookhaven]

A Day of Fallen Night - Samantha Shannon

High Fantasy - Queer Rep - WOMEN

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

I had extremely high expectations for this book, so much that i thought i am going to ruin the experience purely because of all the pent up excitement. Boyyyy was i taken by surprise. This is going to me my favorite read of 2023, yes i know it's still early to decide, no this will not be changed regardless of what i end up reading.

Designed by David Mann and illustrated by Ivan Belikov

Frankly i do not even know where to start. Everything about this book was magnificent, from the complicated world building, the fascinating character arches, to the intricate dissection of the plot that kept me entranced throughout. I got to fall back into the world of "The Roots of Chaos" so easily that i ache for having to leave it behind again.

The story was narrated by 4 characters: Tunuva Melim of the south, Noziken pa Dumai of the east, Glorian Berethnet of the West, and Wulfert Glenn alternating between west and north. To say that it was easy to relate to and fall in love with each of the characters would be an understatement. Each had their own tone, Tunuva being in her 50s with half her life already spent fine tuning her image of herself, Dumai in her late 20s her life about to be turned upside down, and Wulf and Glorian being close to their mid/late teens battling the world to carve a place to fit themselves into (we do not know the actual age of Wulf for reasons i will keep unknown here because OH BOYYYYY was that one of my favorite plot lines in the book).

The sorrow of ages arrives, and no one is prepared to deal with the wrath of earth unleashed. As i've read "The Priory of the Orange Tree" before, i knew the general direction of the events to take place, and i want to stress the genius of Ms. Shannon in giving us a story that kept me on the edge of my seat regardless of that fact.

The strength and warmth of Tunuva, the love between her and Esbar, an old love nurtured for years and set in admiration, comfort, and lasting desire. The fear, resolve, and retaliation of Queen Glorian who sees the Berethnet legacy for what it actually is. The perseverance of Wulf, a man lost to the world and to himself. The trusting nature of Dumai, a woman raised for the peace of temples swept into the war of politics. I could go on and on about almost every character mentioned in this book, major or minor. The amount of attention given to the creation of this world is beyond my greatest imagination and i cannot thank Samantha Shannon enough for sharing it with us.

I don't want to talk about specific details of this books because i'm trying to stay spoiler free, but it needs to be said that there are moments in this book where i've lost my breath with the unfolding of events leaving me full and empty within a couple of sentences.

I cannot recommend this book, or this series enough. Samantha Shannon is officially my favorite writer and i doubt anything will change that in the foreseeable future.

[mybookhaven]

Tress of the Emerald Sea - Brandon Sanderson

Cosmere - Pirates - World building

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

A book brilliantly narrated, with amazing world building, and characters so easy to fall in love with. Brandon Sanderson will never fail me when i want a GOOD fantasy read that has literally everything. Dragons, a complicated magic system, a talking rat, a brilliant planet design, immortal characters, scientific advancements, LAPTOPS that actually fit the narrative of a fantasy book... I could go on forever.

Cover art: couldn't find, will add when i do.

Tress, is a sixteen year old window-washer girl whose life revolves around a rock (island) surrounded by seas made of spores ready to kill at the slightest hint of water. She sets sail to rescue the man she loves after a ploy by his father that sent him into the domain of the Sorceress to be kidnapped for ransom. Her growth was one of the most wonderful things about this book, because we could actually witness her change thought by thought. It was surreal to read, especially as a person whose been through a very similar development in my life.

Then we have Hoid, the narrator whom i never knew i needed before. I don't know how i'm gonna enjoy reading other books without his detailed absurd metaphors every few sentences. I think he can become one of my favorite characters of the cosmere once i actually dive deeper into this world's lore.

Additionally, we got the most amazing bunch of sailors that got me invested in every bit of their interactions. I will not go into detail here because I'm trying to post less spoilery reviews. Butttt i can happily say that i got my GRAY PIRATE, and i loved every second of it.

I mean, i know i don't have to pitch it to cosmere fans, but the amount of referencing to other stories was amazingly done that i squealed at each one i recognised and the ones i didn't did not affect my understanding of the book.

All in all, an amazing book that i would definitely recommend to all fantasy lovers.

[mybookhaven]

A Clash of Steel - C.B. Lee

Pirates - Retelling - Queer rep

⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

This was a really enjoyable read with interesting characters and an exciting plot, and i think it would've been a 4/5 stars if not for size and pacing of the narration. The story is about Xiang, daughter of a widowed merchant who runs a business away from the town she had left her daughter in. Xiang's only goal in life is to prove to her mother that she is worth her time and pride, and so she asks her mother to take her along to the city of Canton to teach her the ways of managing the family's buisness. From there she finds herself on a boat chasing the a legend of the dragon fleet's treasure to bring back to her mother in hope of gaining her trust.

Cover art: couldn't find, will add when i do.

What has to be my favorite thing about this book is the legend of the pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao, a formidable pirate that created and commanded a floating army through which she was able to intimidate multiple kingdoms and collect a treasure that became the dream of every sea-farer in the area. And what makes all this much more intriguing is the fact that it was all based on real life historical events. I also enjoyed reading the way the day-to-day life offshore was written especially since i've been dreaming of going to sea for ages now, which really made this whole book very enjoyable to me.

Now one of the main things that bothered me is the fact that the main plot twist was obvious from the beginning of the book. Not a lot of people care about that, but for me i think it would've made everything 90% more interesting if that specific piece of information wasn't very easy to come by from the start. Additionally, there were fewer action scenes than i was expecting from a pirate story, but then again i liked reading life on sea, so it wasn't that bad.

The other characters were incredibly interesting, and i wish that C.B. Lee went into their pasts, and personalities a little bit more. But the thing that got to me the most was how the storyline developed around Zheng Yi Sao. Part of it was my fault because i was craving her to be the morally gray character that forces you to fall in love with her (and COME ON A QUESTIONABLE CARING YET ICE COLD MILF do you really blame me) but then she was written off as a completely self absorbed asshole, who would do anything to protect her treasure.

Regardless of all that, and as i've said before i enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to all those who do not mind the specific things that affected my reading experience.

[mybookhaven]

The Serpent Gates Duology - A.K. Larkwood

Fantasy - Sci-Fi - Queer rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

I think i just figured out my favorite kind of romantic trope, and it says A LOT about me.

A.K. Larkwood's world building was so beautifully done in this Duology that I think I'm gonna be a little bit in love with it for the rest of my life. The combination of cultures, creatures, and worlds is probably my favorite thing about this story, and I consider myself to be a very harsh critic of world building. I loved the plot(s) I loved the characters, and I loved the language, so let's get into it.

Original Cover Art (respectively): Billelis / Katt Phatt

This duology follows 5 (6ish) main characters through land reclamation, seeking magic objects, fighting gods, becoming gods and much more. A LOT of things happen in the span of two books that keeps you hooked and on the edge of your seat wanting to know more.

Csorwe, an almost 14-year-old girl on the brink of sacrificing herself to her god, meets a mysterious wizard who convinces her to abandon everything she knows and follow him away from the people who want to gift her corpse to their god. From there everything falls into chaos. She meets Talasseres Charossa, her future chaotic sword gay brother (nonbiological), and they both start working for the mysterious wizard in hopes of gaining a drop of his favor (A LOT of father issues in that regard).

Sethennai, the wizard, is after an object that is rumored to contain the secrets of great magic, and in all honesty, I've never hated a character that much. he was brilliantly written to make you doubt your emotions towards him until finally you come to realize at the same time as Csorwe and Tal that he is the shittiest person to have ever existed (in any book you've ever read). I LOVED how A.K. Larkwood was capable of doing that, and then she went and did the exact opposite with Oranna, a librarian from the House of Silence, the cult that sacrifices children to The Unspoken Name (their god). My feelings on her progressed from complete hatred to what I call "me falling in love with every morally gray character that shows a bit of affection after committing unspeakable war crimes".

Finally, I just have one comment on the plot process. I think the series in general would've been even better if it was divided into more than two books. A LOT of things happened that were essentially skimmed over to a certain extent. A.K. Larkwood could have published at least 4 books with the events of these two if she went more into detail of some "in-between" events.

Regardless, I LOVED this duology, and I can't wait to read more of A.K. Larkwood's worlds.

P.S. I wanted there to be more exploration of the romance between Csorwe and Shuthmili. I loved every moment between them I just wished we saw a bit more.

P.P.S. My favorite trope is overpowering "bad-guy" royal Goddess impossibly in love with a troublemaker idiot that is the noblest person in existence.

[mybookhaven]

She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan

Fantasy - Asian - Queer Rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thisss book!!! I know I pretty much sound repetitive at this point, but this was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2022. It was so easy to fall in love with the world created by Shelly Parker-Chan and i can't wait for the release of the second book in the series.    

Cover art: JungShan

I was fascinated by the characters in this book, i think it's one of the top things that made reading it so incredible. It was beautiful to watch the characters unwind their inner gears as the storyline unfolded, which within itself presented a complicated narration that was incredibly pleasurable to experience. The history behind the storyline is delivered in a light chinese style which i think is better suited for a wider audience (also good for Chinese novel lovers like myself), where we go through time as various characters that revolve around the two main drivers of the story.

Reading the way Shelley Parker-Chan wrote the first section of the book, when Zhu Chongba was then simply referred to as the girl was really interesting. I loved that part as much as it hurt me. We got to see the resilience that got her to commit all the atrocities required of her for her continued survival, which later on became beyond the need for survival. And then watching the incredible parallels between her and Ouyang and all the pain that he holds within his mutilated body. It was just too good for my angst loving heart.

And it's worth mentioning the beauty of the romance within the story, however light it was. It was refreshing to read such a real description of love, so very combined with pain and regret, yet so soft and fragile.

I'm really looking forward to the continuation of this series, and anything Shelley Parker-Chan might release in the future.

[mybookhaven]

The Broken Earth Trilogy - N.K. Jemisin

Fantasy - SciFi - Post Apocalyptic

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This review will cover the three books of the Broken Earth trilogy at once since i've read them a while back and it's more of a complete story in my head than individual events.

I would put this series at the top of my favorite fantasy reads of all time. The magnificent world that N.K. Jemisin created within these books has captivated me, keeping me wondering months after reading them about the ingenious way Miss Jemisin used to blend all the intricate small details into a huge world of fascination.

Cover Design: Lauren Panepinto - Wendy Chan

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, and one thing that I found absolutely brilliant is the inclusion of “post-apocalyptic” people in the story. See the thing with post-apocalyptic books they're usually not so far in the future where you see how drastic changes affect the humans living through them, or at least in the ones I've read so far. So, it was wonderful to get to experience all the small and big differences between what a human is (today) and what a human could become in the hands of forced evolution.

A planet built on instability and destruction. A mother with a past that's about to catch up to her. A world that is yet again ending.

Essun, our mother, comes home to the beat-up corpse of her son with her husband and daughter nowhere to be found. What was a meager yet peaceful life she created for herself by running and hiding from her dark past ends as suddenly as it began. We follow her journey after the remaining members of her family in a world slowly becoming uninhabitable. It was incredibly beautiful and painful to live through Essun in a world where hate for what is “different” is dictated by law. We meet various characters that fall on a very huge scale of morality. I felt my own definition of what is "righteous" shake by the actions of these characters. Every little detail was beautifully weaved within the events of the story that it just blew my mind away when i got to the last book and slowly started seeing all the pieces fall into place. The final scenes will forever stick with me. They were so beautifully written and delivered that i felt the intense fluctuations of emotions taking over me.

This is a Trilogy that left me speechless, and I cannot recommend it enough.       

@nkjemisin   

This review is kept as vague as possible to avoid spoilers 

[mybookhaven]

A Woman in the Polar Night - Christiane Ritter

Autobiography - Arctic Nature

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let's mix it up a bit. This is definitely my favourite read of 2022 so far. I didn't see myself falling in love with a non fiction book anytime soon, but i think it's about time i expand my reading reach. I got completely absorbed into Mrs. Christiane's arctic world where it felt like i was living through her from the safety of my own rooms. I would recommend this book to every breathing entity on this planet.

Cover Artist: Naomi MacDougall

The Arctic has always been a point of facination for me, from its captivating remoteness to the harshness of the life birthed within it. So i was pretty intrigued by the indifference that the author showed for the place at the beginning of her journey. It felt odd to me that anyone would willingly choose to live in such an arid wilderness for a year without at least some prior facination with the place.

Mrs. Ritter left the comfort of her European home abandoning alomst everything of her life behind to follow her husband to Svalbard where she will live one of the most memorable winters of her life. The way that she described her journey, from their mundane day-to-day activities, to the exploration of the essence of human emotion that can only truly be felt within the isolation of the far north is just entrancing. It was both a magnificent visual journey, and a wrenchingly moving emotional experience.

The moment the book was close to its end i felt like i was losing a part of me i never even touched. It hurt to leave the world weaved by Mrs. Ritter but it birthed in me a greater love for the wilderness of what is remote, and what is purely animalisticly human. I hope to one day be able to experience part of what i felt exploring this book.

[mybookhaven]

The Spear Cuts Through Water - Simon Jimenez

High Fantasy - Queer Rep - Cultural

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of my most recent reads, and a book i found myself falling in love with effortlessly. There is a uniqueness to this book that just drew me in without hesitation, the way that Mr. Jimenez combined his narration with that of the narrators in the book is fascinating. I felt a sort of magic weaved in the story that moves between what is fictitious and what is real. I loved the way cultures were portrayed within the narrative, reflecting the significance of ones origins and how they shape generations upon generations of the future. It's a magnificent depiction of the emptiness of a life lived for others joint to a life that shakes worlds.

Cover artist: Simón Prades

We follow the events through two young boys with a drastically different upbringing that join arm (if somewhat reluctantly) to put an end to the tyranny of a kingdom that i would consider to be built on blood. We get to travel with them as people, as gods, as souls and voices as they emerge from one fight to the other. Then we are brought back to the theater where this entire tale is being told, and we get to live it through the eyes of history itself.

One thing i found fascinating about this book is how Mr. Jimenez used the thoughts of people alive and dead to narrate what is beyond the perception of our heroes. It was a magnificent approach to witness the world as a whole, removing the narrative from the fragmented view of a single character to combine the entirety of the event.

To me it felt like i'm living through the characters and all that surrounds them. This got me me as close as possible to how the perception of gods would be like, and i found it extremely wondrous.

[mybookhaven]

The Priory of The Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

High fantasy - Queer Rep

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This humongous beast of a book is one of my all time favourite reads. I have read it three times since i bought it, and every single time it snatches me into a world beyond my wildest dreams. The way Miss Samantha Shannon intricately weaves the world of the Priory from its complex political factions to the different religious regimes of the various kingdoms all seemingly originating form the same event blows my mind away.

Cover Art: Ivan Belikov

We follow the story from 4 different perspectives, each bringing their own voices into the storytelling experience, The East with "Tané" and "Niclays", The West with "Ead" and "Loth".

I got to live through each character as they uncovered conspiracies, secrets, histories, and emotions. I got to witness a hazy truth slowly being broken down to pieces as our narrators began to unveil its nooks and crannies. How they all tied in together at the end to reform the clear outline that binds their different cultures into each other.

I loved the anticipation i had reading through the different events of the book waiting for the characters to meet, specifically Ead and Tané. I loved the language of the book and how it made it easy for me to actually immerse myself into its world. To forget about the modernity of our current time and just exist within the time frame of the priory. I loved the way everything written within the book converged towards the plotline. How it all made sense at the end, every small detail written. And most importantly i loved how Miss Shannon did not shy away from the horrors of reality, bridging a world built upon fantasy and fairytale with the harshness of what's real. Reflecting the difficulty of situations with real casualties that break you, but still knowing that they needed to happen. A lot of books nowadays tend to shy away from killing characters even when it drastically ruins their substance, so i'm really glad that Miss Shannon found the perfect balance within this story.

This book will forever have a special place in my heart and i cannot wait to dive into its world again with the release of its prequel.

@sshannonauthor